The Odysseus lander was communicating with ground controllers and was sending back data after landing Thursday.
and ended up on its side near the moon’s south pole, hampering communications, company officials said Friday.
Odysseus — the first U.S. lander in more than 50 years — is thought to be within a few miles of its intended landing site near the Malapert A crater, less than 200 miles from the south pole. NASA, the main customer, wanted to get as close as possible to the pole to scout out the area before astronauts show up later this decade.
Odysseus’ mission was sponsored in large part by NASA, whose experiments were on board. NASA paid $118 million for the delivery under a program meant to jump-start the lunar economy. Embry-Riddle’s Troy Henderson said his team will try to release EagleCam in the coming days, so it can photograph the lander from roughly 26 feet away.
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